digital maps

Jane Wilson fell to her death in March

(Newser) -
A hiker's fatal fall in March has been blamed on using a smartphone app map instead of an actual map. The BBC reports Jane Wilson and her husband Gary were hiking on Tryfan in Wales when it started to get dark and they decided to skip the summit. While...
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Waze buy thwarts rivals, might raise anti-trust concerns

(Newser) -
Google is close to finalizing one of the biggest acquisitions in its history, with a more than $1 billion deal for the maps and traffic app Waze, the Wall Street Journal reports. Here's what makes the move interesting:

Motorists using app stranded in wilderness

(Newser) -
Apple's much-maligned mapping system is so flawed that motorists who rely on it run the risk of ending up dead in the wilderness, Australia police warn. Over the last few weeks, six motorists have become stranded in Victoria state's Murray Sunset National Park when following the map app'...
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Google readying maps app for Apple devices

(Newser) -
The manager who oversaw Apple's mistake-ridden maps software has been told to clean out his desk and attempt to find his way out of the building. Mapping team chief Richard Williamson was fired as part of a management shake-up last month , sources tell Bloomberg, and his replacement is scrambling...
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But version 5 might sell a record 10M this weekend

(Newser) -
The iPhone 5 is on sale today, as evidenced by the usual jam-packed stores in Asia and Europe, reports AP . The same will follow in the US—in fact, some analysts think Apple might sell a record 10 million phones this weekend, notes Bloomberg . Apple, however, also is dealing with...
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3D modeling, Street View backpack among new features

(Newser) -
With Apple reportedly diving into digital mapping , Google is stepping up its own efforts in the field. The company has announced several unique new features for its Maps service, including a Street View backpack, 3D city models, and an offline mode. With 15 lenses, the Street View Trekker pack takes...
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iPhone's Google ties weaken

(Newser) -
The iPhone is fighting a war for independence from Google Maps, with Apple looking to launch its own mapping service. Long an inextricable part of the iPhone experience, Google Maps will no longer be the device's default navigator, if all goes according to Apple's plan. The Cupertino company'...
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Use nature and architecture to navigate in a city

(Newser) -
How would you find your way around a city if your GPS or the maps application on your smartphone suddenly stopped working? Many modern people, reliant on digital geographic devices, would be completely lost. There are, however, tricks that can help the directionally perplexed—ones that don't require any...
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Google ditches industry giant for user content, and others follow

(Newser) -
Online maps that depend on user-generated content are growing at quite a clip, even threatening the more traditional purveyors of digital cartography. The famously canny Google marked the transition last month by dropping map company Tele Atlas from its US maps, opting to rely on free info provided by the...
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